Learn from the Swedes

I just came back from a trip to Sweden (and Denmark) and I was very surprised with what I saw. It was my first time in Scandinavia and I never realised that they are way ahead then the rest of Europe when it comes to taking care of the environment.

My first hint was the cycle lanes. Their cycle lanes are well integrated with the road system, clearly not an afterthought like the ones in London. Not only that but they did not attempt to do something so stupid as to put the cycles in the bus lane. In most cases cyclists share the sidewalk with pedestrians, with clear painted lines and signs showing who gets which part. In Kristianstad, where I was, it seemed like everyone cycled. Cycling is the choice of transport unless you have to carry something or you are going a far way.If you decide to take the bus, then you will be on a biogas burning vehicle. The busses are painted green and make sure that everyone getting on them knows that they use biogas.

Recycling is another big thing in Sweden, you seperate everything and then throw it away accordingly. Driving around proved that the Swedes d not have the same problem British people have with wind turbines. They are scattered all over the place. The lower parts are painted in shades of green in an attempt to blend in with the scenery, but overall they just look natural there. They fit in fine, and no one seems to mind.

It seems that the Swedes have found a way to live more in harmony with nature than most of us do. We should definetly be looking at Scandanavia to learn. What makes it really clear how enviornmentally aware they are is that your fast food meal does not only come labeled with how many claoris and how many grams of fat it contains, but how much CO2e was emitted in making it.

Sustainable Energy

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June 21st, 2009

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2 responses


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Tarek Shalaby

It’s true that the Scandinavians are ahead of the rest of Europe in a number of things. But while they’ve been taking good care of the environment, how have they been using their resources? What I means is, it is easy to take superficial steps towards a greener planet, but I think it’s more complicated to reduce consumption, for example, so that you can help fight poverty and other problems world-wide.

If you look at the total energy consumption per capita:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_consumption_per_capita
You’ll see that Sweden is one of the 15 countries that most consume energy, surprisingly more than countries like the UK and Japan. And with the lack of resources available, this is a serious issue.

That is why I think it’s easy to talk about making this world a better place, but it is much more difficult to walk the walk.

June 22, 2009 6:40 pm

admin

Yes, Sweden might have an above average energy consumption per capita, but that is mainly due to the cold weather. What we need to look at is not consumption, it is ok to consume more, what matters is where your energy is coming from. Sweden gets most of its electricity out of hydro and nuclear power. In fact even though it’s consumption is higher it’s emissions per capita are lower than the EU-25 average. There have also been suggestions to phase out gasoline powered cars by 2025. The fact is that Sweden is actually walking in the right direction, not just talking. They are investing in renewables and energy efficiency. They are definitely working on decreasing their carbon footprint.

If you take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_greenhouse_gas_emissions_per_capita you will find that Sweden ranks 56th in green house emissions per capita, which is very good for a developed country. In contrast the UK stands at 36th and Japan 37th.

June 22, 2009 7:03 pm

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